Chad

History

The state of Chad in its present borders is a creation of European colonization. Its borders result from negotiations between the French, the English and the Germans in the 1880s. But the land has a rich and relatively well known history. It is undoubtedly one of the cradles of Humanity (cf. the recent discovery of "Toumaï"). It was the seat of three great Sahelian kingdoms.

After the failure of a planned merger between Chad and Libya in 1981, Libyan troops withdrew under an agreement with the French government. In 1982, Goukouni Oueddei was overthrown in his turn by Hissène Habré, who had to appeal the following year to French troops to contain a new Libyan invasion. In 1990, Hissène Habré was ousted by Idriss Déby Itno, who has been in office ever since. Paradoxically, the latter seems to benefit today from the support of France and Libya, facing the various rebel movements that are partly supported by neighboring Sudan, in connection with the Darfur conflict.

Geography

Chad is a vast country with low human density and many contrasts: the northern third of the country is occupied by the Sahara, and almost empty of human presence. Further south is the Sahel where rainfall is higher, with 300-600 mm of annual precipitation. It is south of this area the capital, N'djamena, is located. Further south, there is a savanna zone where precipitation can exceed 900 mm. It is there, in the southwest, that on average the densities are the highest.

The North and Center are populated by disparate Saharan populations, all Muslim. In addition, the Arabs, who are Muslim, occupy three large settlements in the north, center and south-east, and represent about 14.5% of the Chadian population. Finally, the southwest has mainly Christian, and very marginally animist, Black African populations.

Evangelization

Evangelization began in 1930. Alongside small chapels dedicated to Mary, there are two great Marian shrines:

Sarh: Cathedral "Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception"

N'Djamena: Cathedral parish of "Our Lady of Peace"

Pope Saint John Paul II came to "Our Lady of Peace" on January 30, 1990.